I was wondering about the weight of naugahide. I think I'll go with something lighter. I have an 18 foot Alumicraft canoe that probably weighs in at over 100 lb and want something lighter that I can load and unload by myself.

This old folbot, covered with fiberglass is pretty light. I can pick it up with one hand with no difficulty...and I like that.

I am waffling between canvas, and fiberglass. I wonder how durable the heat shrink dacron might be in small Ozark rivers? I might have to research that.

Thanks for the information J.D.

: In addition, the naugahyde skin is puckered a little along the gunnel where
: the two layers have apparently separated, and it needs new strips along
: the bow and keel where the original has worn through. I plan to use a PDI
: product called 'vyna-bond' to bond the naugahyde.

: Although the fabric is tough, one downside is it's immense weight. I'm sure
: the 18' boat is over 100 lbs. After I get it in the water to see if it's
: nice to paddle, I'd been thinking about reskinning it like the 'Geodesic
: Airolite' boats (http://www.geodesicairoliteboats.com/).